Hello all. This is just a quick note to let you know that the reason for my even-more-than-normal poor comms is due to the fact that Iíve not been too well of late (precis below..). So if youíve made contact on here, or via other means (the website, text, voicemail, Facebook etc.) and Iíve not responded, I will get back to youÖ honest! The basics are:

I have had faecal peritonitis with a few additional complications, so have been in hospital having bits chopped out of me. These bits are still out for investigation. Lucky someone with that job. I nearly popped my clogs twice whilst in the hospital, my stomach now looks like someone let off a frag grenade on it and Iím cra**ing in to a bag attached to my waist.

The mortality rate for the issues I had is plenty over 50%, but two weeks after going in to hospital Iím at home and hospital macaroni cheese is a distant and dreadful memory. Sc**w you Reaper, try harder next time; Celts are hard to kill, there was a reason even the Roman Empire couldnít conquer Wales and Ireland and it wasnít just to do with the way we smelt. Iíve lost two stone in weight, which for someone my height is like a leg, or something. This means Iím a bit weak and tired but at least Iím not going to get diabetes.

However, Iím not a maudlin git, so the positives are: I can now blow my nose without pi**ing myself, I can pick things up off the floor, can walk for more than 45 minutes without needing a snooze and am saving a fortune on vastly overpriced toilet paper. Oh, and I havenít smoked in 2 weeks. Apparently itís bad for you, or something, anyway, so no great loss. Also, with a fair wind, plenty of R&R they should be able to reverse the stoma and colostomy. Iím sure you appreciate, this is one of the best things Iíve heard, along with when a member of the hospital staff pulled back my curtain on the morning after my second operation and said, ďOh, I didnít expect you to be here this morning. We all thought you werenít going to make itĒ. It made me smile anyway.

With reference to the business; weíre still going, but at a slower rate, my brother Steve is helping out wherever he can but lead times may be longer than normal as he lives in the middle of nowhere and is an incredibly busy man himself. Anna is still manning the office side of things, but Iím sure Iíll be able to push her on to the tools soonÖ

Blimey, that sounds like one hell of a journey you've been on. Well done for pulling through (twice). I'm sure a positive frame of mind helps in these situations, and from your post it looks like you've got one. Best of luck with the recovery.